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LoginFamous French Cheese Recipes, How To Serve And Store Them
7 min
11/05/20267 min11/05/2026
Roquefort is what many associate with French cheese recipes; it is one of the infamous blue cheeses famous for its pungency. But beyond this French cheese, there are many more in the country that deserve a mention. A lot of the texture, hardness, pungency and taste of the French cheese is derived from the milk used as well as how long and where they are aged. Find out the specifics of some of the most famed French cheeses below.
Cheese making in France is an art in itself, with wheels of cheese being aged in the many caves of the country. The French call their cheese ‘la fromage’ and without a doubt, are the reigning champions of cheese making, boasting somewhere between 1200 and 1600 cheese recipes.
This is hardly a surprise. France has a dedicated space to cattle rearing where milk is one of the biggest products, with Normandy being the epicentre of dairy production. If processed cheese has been your BFF and you really like cheese, it’s time to get to know the many French cheeses. Know about their aroma, flavour and texture to get the best out of regular dishes like pasta, pizza, and pair them with wines or even add them to charcuterie boards.
Hailing from the Jura mountains of France, straddling the border of France and Switzerland, comté is a big and hard cheese made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. Its flavours could be anything from nutty, milky, fruity, vegetal, or even roasted, based on its age and when exactly the milk is used. The cheese is aged in the caves in the region, which influences its taste further.
How to serve: Younger comté melts more easily, so it is great as a fondue, while aged ones can be grated over baked dishes and pasta, with a side of sherry or red wine.
How to store: Wrap in breathable wax paper, seal in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator between 7°C and 12°C.
Known as the ‘King of cheese’, brie is one of the oldest cheese recipes of France, hailing from its northern region, and made with cow’s milk. Brie is a soft cheese with an edible rind with mould on it. It is creamy, with nutty and fruity notes — a flavour reminiscent of mushrooms. The most famous version is Brie de Meaux, from the Meaux region of France, and associated with royalty and nobility in the past.
How to serve: Brie should be served at room temperature to get the best of its flavours. Eat it with bread or as part of cheese platters with wine.
How to store: Store this soft French cheese in parchment or wax paper to let it breathe. And then refrigerate for a maximum of one week.
Just like there are different rotis, like bhakri, thalipeeth and parathas, made from the same dough, a variety of French cheese recipes use blue cheese. It’s made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk and is one of the world’s oldest and most famous cheeses. Hence, it has veins of blue mould before it is pressed. It has a creamy and crumbly texture with an incomparable sharp, salty, spicy and tangy flavour.
How to serve: The cheese is a good addition to burgers, salads and pasta. It can also be paired with figs, nuts and wines that are sweet or full-bodied reds.
How to store: Tightly wrap in wax paper or aluminium foil and place it among the vegetables in your fridge.
Made from raw cow’s milk, Camembert is from Normandy, the dairy capital of France. It is a stinky cheese with a mouldy, cabbage-like smell and a taste that is said to be a mix of mushrooms, butter and grass. It is a creamy and buttery soft cheese with a blooming rind that is known to get earthier as it matures. One of the earliest French cheese recipes, Camembert, was first made in 1791, at the time of the French Revolution.
How to serve: Camembert is paired with desserts, crusty bread, and as part of cheese boards. Or, you can bake it and eat it with apple slices like the Normandy folks.
How to store: It should come in a wooden box, so store it in that in your refrigerator’s vegetable drawer between 7°C and 12°C.
Made with unpasteurized cow milk, reblochon comes from the higher altitude alpine pastures. It’s a semi-hard cheese with a nutty, fruity and earthy taste, whose rind could be either yellow or orange. It is said the cheese was first made by a farmer attempting to hide his milk production and escape milk tax owed to the pasture owners. The cheese melts well and is ripened for 15 days before being fit for consumption.
How to serve: A good addition to lardons-based salads (pork-based), baked potatoes, grapes and in savoury crepes.
How to store: Wrap in breathable paper and store it in the refrigerator’s vegetable drawer for a maximum of one week, once opened.
Boasting one of the cheese recipes that produces the stinkiest cheese in the land, Époisses is not for the weak-nosed. This cheese is soft with a washed rind (washed with a mix of water and Marc de Bourgogne), which makes it glossy, and has a rich and meaty flavour. It matures for at least a month to develop salty, sweet and spicy flavours. Just like durian, which has been banned by the Thai government in public transport because of its smell, the same treatmented in meted out to this stinky cheese by the French government.
How to serve: Serve this cheese as a part of a cheese tasting board, on top of a slice of crusty bread or with a glass of pinot noir or beer.
How to store: Store it in its original wooden box between 2-6°C in the refrigerator. Ideally, wrap it in parchment paper and seal the wooden box in a sealed container to contain its intense smell.
Try haute cuisine with the best of French cheeses, from soft, semi-hard to stiff varieties that are perfect with white wine, as the French prefer them. You can also serve pieces and slices of these cheese recipes on your cheese board for your next tête-à-tête, or find different ways to try these cheeses if you happen to buy some in bulk.
France has no single ‘most popular’ cheese, but comté, goat cheese, and camembert rank highly. Camembert is especially iconic, while cow’s milk cheeses overall are most widely consumed.
